Surprising ways to use sweet potato

Eating on the bright side with Australian sweet potatoes can be a helluva lot more adventurous than your standard sweet potato soup, mash or fries. This versatile vegetable can be used in a huge array of dishes, both sweet and savoury, and for any meal of the day. To show you just how adaptable the sweet potato can be, we’ve brought you two surprising recipe ideas that you might never have considered before.

Accredited Practising Dietitian Marika Day has created the below recipes especially for Australian Sweet Potatoes, to help more Aussies supercharge more of their meals and snacks with the healthy carbs, fibre, vitamins and minerals that sweet potatoes contain.

For those who love to bake, as well as those with a sweet tooth, you’ll know all about banana bread, but what about sweet potato bread? Yep – the mashed sweet potatoes in this recipe help to create a richly-flavoured and deliciously moist bread, while the cinnamon adds a hint of spice and pecans round it all out with some crunch.

If you enjoy a cooked brekkie, you’ll love Day’s sweet potato breakfast bowl. It’ll kickstart your day with so many nutrients, you’ll be flying through the morning like an absolute champion. Sweet potato’s complex carbs provide you with lasting energy, while dietary fibre keeps you feeling full, so you’ll make it to lunch without having to resort to sugary snacks.

Sweet potato and cinnamon bread

Created by Accredited Practising Dietitian Marika Day for Australian Sweet Potatoes
Serves 10
Cooking time 1 hour 15 minutes

You’ll need:

1 cup pre-cooked and cooled mashed sweet potato
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup maple syrup
½ cup milk
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp salt
1 cup roughly chopped pecans
¼ cup melted butter
2 cups self-raising flour

For the cinnamon sugar topping:

1 tbsp caster sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C and grease and line a loaf tin (Day uses a 21cm x 11cm loaf tin).

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients except for the flour and topping ingredients. Mix until well combined.

3. Sift flour into mixing bowl and gently fold flour into mixture until just combined.

4. Pour into loaf tin.

5. Combine caster sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle on top of loaf.

6. Cook for 55-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

7. Allow to cool before slicing.

Mashed sweet potato breakfast bowl

Created by Accredited Practising Dietitian Marika Day for Australian Sweet Potatoes
Serves 1
Cooking time 15 minutes

You’ll need:

200g sweet potato (approximately half a medium sweet potato)
1 tsp salted butter
1 egg
3 stalks broccolini
2 handfuls baby spinach
Chilli flakes, to serve

Method:

1. Peel sweet potatoes, dice into large cubes.

2. Bring a saucepan of water to boil with a pinch of salt.

3. Add sweet potato and allow to boil for 10 minutes or until soft and cooked through.

4. Meanwhile, place broccolini in a microwave-safe dish with a dash of water. Cover and microwave on high for 1 minute. Add spinach leaves and return to the microwave to steam for a further 1 minute. Drain and season with salt and pepper.

5. Poach, boil or fry your egg in a pan until cooked to your liking.

6. Drain sweet potato, add butter. Mash until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

7. Place sweet potato into a bowl and top with greens and egg. Sprinkle with chilli flakes.

For more creative recipe ideas using Australian sweet potatoes, head to the Australian Sweet Potatoes website.